Sen Jim Justice says Republicans are 'lousy' at knowing what everyday Americans think about healthcare
Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.V., believed that Republicans had accomplished numerous feats in 2025, but he and his party had fallen woefully short of truly understanding what the everyday American thinks."We,...
By Fox News · Fox News
Sen. Jim Justice , R-W.V., believed that Republicans had accomplished numerous feats in 2025, but he and his party had fallen woefully short of truly understanding what the everyday American thinks. "We, as Republicans, and I have said this so many times, we're lousy," Justice told Fox News Digital. "We're great at doing the good things, but we're lousy at really knowing what Toby and Edith are thinking. And that causes a lot of problems." "Toby" and "Edith" are the names Justice gives to the average voter, a group he said that he knows well from his time as West Virginia’s governor for eight years before joining the Senate after scoring an easy victory in the 2024 election. SEN MURPHY WARNS 'PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE' AS CONGRESS PUNTS ON EXPIRING OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES Justice’s frustration came as Congress was readying to leave Washington, D.C., until the new year. Lawmakers had failed to tackle one last remaining issue after scores of legislative victories in the upper chamber: extending, or replacing, expiring Obamacare premium subsidies . Those tax credits are set to lapse Wednesday, and tens of millions of Americans will see their out-of-pocket costs for healthcare double, triple and in some cases skyrocket by more than 300%. Justice said that, as governor, there was understanding the credits would expire, given that Democrats under former President Joe Biden both enhanced the subsidies and set an expiration date for the end of the year. REPUBLICANS CONSIDER USING RECONCILIATION AGAIN AFTER TRUMP'S BIGGEST LEGISLATIVE WIN But to Toby and Edith, the political machinations and fights that dominated the latter part of the year mattered little. It’s the end result that they’re paying attention to, Justice said. "They're thinking, ‘Well, you know, I know [former President Barack] Obama started all this stuff, and I know it didn't work, and everything, but the Republicans are pretty much in charge right now,’" Justice said. "‘So, you know, if they're in charge, why don…